Zelle LLP

Your insured is sued, along with several other additional or named insureds. You receive a policy limits demand that is reasonable, but the limit is insufficient to settle all claims against all of the defendants. What do you…more

Upon notification of a loss, and in order to avoid waiving its rights to rely on a defense to a claim for indemnity under the policy, the insurer may issue a reservation of rights. In the context of liability insurance, an ROR…more

Another Texas court -- this time in the Valley -- has realized What The Hail Is Going On?
Nino vs. State Farm Lloyds is identical to thousands of hail damage lawsuits presently pending in the Valley. Most of these…more

Following last year’s elections, the political and economic landscape is changing in Argentina. Where new economic opportunities arise, (re)insurance follows. Along with new demand for commercial insurance products, the legal…more

On Election Day, November 8, employment-related initiatives were voted on and passed by voters in a number of states.
Minimum Wage -
Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington approved ballot measures to…more

Over the past two years, we at the Navigator have been fascinated with all the new technology showing up in the workplace. We’ve repeatedly cautioned employers about the risks of adopting technology before understanding and…more

The United States District Courts in Texas continue to issue conflicting opinions regarding the analysis to be used in determining whether a state court petition contains sufficient allegations against a nondiverse defendant to…more

May 2015 was a month of record rain for Texas. Meteorologists reported that in May alone, 37.3 trillion gallons of water fell in Texas — enough to cover the entire state with 8 inches of water. The nonstop barrage has caused…more

In a time when the “disruptive” label is far from viewed as pejorative and, in fact, deemed essential for many new business models, existing market participants looking to fight back are turning to powerful federal and state…more

Please join us from Noon-1:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday, July 16 for an informative and timely webinar where we will address these questions:
Did you know that hackers often use your employees to get into your company's…more

Following last year’s elections, the political and economic landscape is changing in Argentina. Where new economic opportunities arise, (re)insurance follows. Along with new demand for commercial insurance products, the legal…more

Policyholder lawyers are a creative group. One of the more recent manifestations of this creativity is the attempt to attack the attorney-client privilege in the context of insurance coverage disputes. While these attacks…more

Texas hail season is in full swing and the courts are giving insureds (and their prospective attorneys) a lot to think about when it comes to turning in those claims. The eagerly awaited decision by the Fifth Circuit in Hamilton…more

Nanotechnology, an all-encompassing term for nanoscale science, engineering and technology, is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers. One nanometer is one-billionth of 1 meter. The…more

Appraisal clauses have appeared in most first-party property policies for well over 100 years. However, it is only in the last 15 years or so that appraisal has received such enormous attention in Texas. Before 2002, appraisal…more

The recent Tianjin port explosion, like the 2011 Japanese earthquake and Thai floods, will lead to massive supply chain disruption. The impacted area included a high concentration of multinational and technology companies. The…more

In a recent opinion, U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater delivered the final blow to One Way Investments Inc. in its hail damage lawsuit against property insurer Century Surety Company — granting summary judgment in favor of…more

The recent Tianjin port explosion, like the 2011 Japanese earthquake and Thai floods, will lead to massive supply chain disruption. The impacted area included a high concentration of multinational and technology companies. The…more

In 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act, regarded by many as a major reform of the food safety provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, significantly expanded the powers of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,…more

Despite best efforts, ambiguities are inevitable in contracts. The doctrine of contra proferentem shifts the risk of ambiguity to the party that drafted the contract. The doctrine is frequently applied against insurers where the…more

In determining whether a property insurance policy responds to a loss, the fundamental, threshold question to be answered is whether or not the policyholder sustained “physical loss or damage” to insured property. In the absence…more

For more than a decade, courts applying Texas law — including the Fifth Circuit, two federal district courts and several Texas courts of appeal — have uniformly held that an insurer’s full and timely payment of an appraisal…more

We previously discussed in a June 10, 2015, guest article the basics of insurance underwriting and claim handling in China. In this article, we give an overview of the legal framework and relevant key issues in insurance…more

Those familiar with the issues faced by insurers in Texas first-party insurance claims, particularly in the realm of hail damage claims, are undoubtedly aware of what has been labeled the "Progressive Claim Syndrome.” In a…more

For most of the Northeast, this winter was off to a slow start in terms of snowfall. That was, however, until winter storm Juno paralyzed much of the Eastern Corridor and resulted in eye-popping, 3-foot-plus snow totals in some…more

Like it or not, technology is creeping into virtually every aspect of our daily lives. In fact, some people are so psychologically attached to their smartphones, that cellphone addiction has been given a clinical name,…more

Insurers and reinsurers regularly communicate regarding matters they view as confidential. These communications often relate to claims, both routine and litigated, by the underlying insureds. Insureds, in turn, seek discovery of…more

When employees think they’ve been mistreated and seek the advice of a lawyer, the result is often a demand letter sent by the employee’s lawyer to the employer. The employee (or ex-employee) may claim to have been discriminated…more

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, several commentators opined that opposing political parties would control the office of the president and Congress’s two chambers — the Senate and the House of Representatives. In fact,…more

Obvious to anyone in the insurance industry, Texas courts are experiencing an explosion of first-party property insurance lawsuits arising from wind and hail related insurance claims. Dozens of lawsuits are filed every day in…more

In a painstaking dissection of the “inextricably intertwined” standard often used by courts to determine whether plaintiffs can show they suffered “antitrust injury” if they neither purchased from, nor competed with, a…more

Weather events in recent years have led to a surge of lawsuits seeking coverage for property damage. Often, in an effort to defeat diversity jurisdiction, a Texas resident will sue both a foreign insurance company and a fellow…more

The U.S. Supreme Court’s March 2013 decision in Comcast was heralded by many as a class certification “game-changer” that raised the bar for plaintiffs seeking class certification in competition and other class cases —…more

Over a period of just 14 months in 2004 and 2005, no less than six hurricanes made landfall in Florida – basically back-to-back years of hurricanes coming at the rate of one per month during the height of hurricane season. Then…more

California Governor Jerry Brown announced on Monday that he had reached a deal with lawmakers to raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2022, calling it a “matter of economic justice.”
The proposal must win…more

Insurance practice in Texas has become somewhat rote. Typically, a petition is filed against both an insurance company (that is often not based or incorporated in Texas) and a local adjuster. In addition to a breach of contract…more

Appraisal has long been utilized as a tool for resolution of disputes over the amount of loss at issue in property insurance claims. Unfortunately, the appraisal process has devolved in recent years. What was once considered an…more

Class representatives play a vital role in competition and other class actions. They participate in the litigation process as an individual plaintiff would — devoting their time and resources to the case, and undertaking…more

Some terms frequently found in (re)insurance contracts and statutes have different meanings in common law, English-speaking jurisdictions than they do in civil law, Spanish-speaking countries. It is critical for (re)insurers…more

..Once a wind storm is named as a hurricane by the National Weather Service, and a warning or watch for any part of Florida is issued, all wind losses in the state from that time until 72 hours after the last warning or watch…more

As has been widely reported, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently granted a petition for allowance of appeal in the matter of Rancosky v. Washington Nat. Insurance Co. in order to address a challenge concerning the standard…more

Your insured is sued, along with several other additional or named insureds. You receive a policy limits demand that is reasonable, but the limit is insufficient to settle all claims against all of the defendants. What do you…more

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, several commentators opined that opposing political parties would control the office of the president and Congress’s two chambers — the Senate and the House of Representatives. In fact,…more

..Once a wind storm is named as a hurricane by the National Weather Service, and a warning or watch for any part of Florida is issued, all wind losses in the state from that time until 72 hours after the last warning or watch…more

Despite best efforts, ambiguities are inevitable in contracts. The doctrine of contra proferentem shifts the risk of ambiguity to the party that drafted the contract. The doctrine is frequently applied against insurers where the…more

Upon notification of a loss, and in order to avoid waiving its rights to rely on a defense to a claim for indemnity under the policy, the insurer may issue a reservation of rights. In the context of liability insurance, an ROR…more

Throughout the onslaught of the Texas hail litigation epidemic, policyholder lawyers and firms representing insurance carriers continue to battle over whether these cases belong in Texas state court or are more properly venued…more

As has been widely reported, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently granted a petition for allowance of appeal in the matter of Rancosky v. Washington Nat. Insurance Co. in order to address a challenge concerning the standard…more

According to initial reports, Hurricane Patricia didn't end up causing nearly the damage that the world’s most powerful hurricane could have caused. It is a good reminder, however, for reinsurers of how sudden and unpredictable…more

An alarming trend is emerging in the first-party insurance claims process. This new approach attempts to dispose of the traditional claims process in favor of an abbreviated process (if any) followed immediately by litigation…more

A little more than one year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis Inc. and affirmed that antitrust principles apply to reverse payment settlement agreements — those in which a brand-name drug…more

As reported in the national news, North Texas recently experienced multiple significant hail storms. This article will address some of the issues associated with insurance claims arising from multiple hail events over a short…more

The great majority of private antitrust disputes are resolved through settlements. One of the key challenges for policymakers, practitioners, consumers and businesses is how to efficiently resolve cross-border price-fixing…more

November 8, 2016 is almost here—finally. There has been stress and controversy in the workplace this election season as a result of the unusually contentious and heated presidential election. Indeed, a recent American…more

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